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Just over two years ago we bought a Flymo 380 hovermower. We were very pleased with its performance as we have a large expanse of grass ( meadow turf ) which is a chore.A few weeks ago- when the warranty had just run out - it began to cut out repeatedly after the first 15 or so minutes. The machine was taken locally for a service and attention to the defect whilst we were away on holiday. Colected it on Monday (£25 for service ) machine looked good as new. Alas problem still there. The repairer tells us that the overheat cut out switch is faulty and needs replacing. This used to be a separate item and cheap to repair BUT now is only supplied with a complete new motor assembly £44!!!!!.We are ow caught between having a new motor fitted for perhaps only another one or two years'mowing OR starting again looking for another machine. Last time we considered a petrolmower but these didnt give the finish the Flymo gave and take more room to store. The repairer has suggested a Qualcast with wheels and grassbox. Any ideas anybody?

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Our little Flymo finally gave up the ghost, so we had to get a new lawn mower. We had considered petrol mowers, as the grass area is pretty large, but because the lawn is so uneven in places we opted for another of the hover type mowers! It is a Bosch ARM 34, but in fact it could be something else (I’ll get to that shortly). So we have now put the new one through it’s paces, it is less strain on your arms than the Flymo was, due to it’s design where the handle is anchored to a two way pivoting head! It has a slightly larger cutting area than the old mower; at 34 cm it is an improvement on 28 cm. The motor is 1150 watt, the cable length is 40 ft and there are four cutting heights. It is not any quieter than the Flymo, which was a little disappointing, I expected more from Bosch The machine is quite light at 6.5 kg and fairly easy to handle, my only bugbear was having to hold the trigger in to keep the motor running, it made my hand ache, but then I suppose this is a safety feature as you will find it on all mowers of this type. If you had a fall whilst mowing the lawn, the last thing you want is the blade to carry on rotating and possibly giving you a serious injury! So on reflection this feature is a positive one, as soon as you release the hand trigger the blade stops moving. It tackled the lumps and bumps with ease, in fact it felt rather strange at first with it’s pivoting head moving from side to side as I mowed over the lumpy bits. I found it very easy to manoeuvre around corners and curves though, so this design does work. It veers off course a little when going over bumps, so unless a lawn is nice and flat forget walking up and down in straight lines, it won’t work. We paid £65 for this mower, which was offered as a special price with a Bosch strimmer included, from Homebase in Telford. I feel that we had a good deal, as a similar Flymo would be well over £50 and we got a str immer too, and a quiet strimmer at that! Now I come to the part where I reveal it’s multiple identity. You may or may not know that Bosch and Qualcast and Atco are combined. Our mower is identical to the Qualcast Easi Lite 34, except that it has the name Bosch on it. We were not aware of this until we came home and took the mower out of it’s packaging, and noticed the guarantee registration was to be sent to Qualcast! It would appear that the three companies are now combined, because when I visited the Qualcast web site, the contact details were Qualcast (Bosch Group) etc. So in the case of this and other garden tools by the above mentioned manufacturers, far from buying a “brand” name, you could well be getting a piece of equipment marketed under two or three different names, so at least you will be a bit more clued up than we were. What’s the verdict, all in all a value for money purchase, which does a decent job, and handles well, it is early days yet but I feel quite satisfied with it. Obviously if a problem develops then I will update this op and keep you posted.

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The Hower Mowers from Bosch aim to make light, easy work of lawn moving. The lightweight mowers glide over the grass without any resistance from rollers or wheels. The motor and blade are mounted independently to ensure good manoeuvrability, particularly along edges or around objects. The blade adjusts to uneven surfaces, aiming to take the backache out of mowing, even in inaccessible places